Our confusing times

We are very, very happy about the eight percent improvement in President Arroyo’s approval ratings. We don’t believe that all the demonstrations for her to voluntarily step down from office will do the country any good. First, because she will never step down from office. Second, because the people asking her to resign voluntarily are not even agreed as to who will take over. If the Constitution is to be followed, Vice-President Noli de Castro should replace her. But there is so much talk about a transitional government without anyone specifying as to who would composed such a transitional administration.

The tragedy of our times is that those who are now making the news are the so-called whistleblowers and it is a known fact that they have been paid to blow the whistle. After being paid to say what they know, they are again bribed into retracting some of their own statements. In short, they are paid if they do and paid when they deny what they did.

All we ask is the truth and we cannot doubt that many whistleblowers were telling the truth, but unfortunately not the whole truth. Most of the news, of course, have been about the "Hello, Garci" tapes and jueteng. The biggest mystery, of course, is the whereabouts of Garcillano. The so-called Zuce exposé is directly connected to the Garcillano-tape controversy. Zuce is the nephew of Garcillano’s wife. But none of the so-called "whistleblowers" have a credible past.

Now, Sen. Panfilo Lacson is expected to come out with another surprise witness with an explosive exposé and Archbishop Oscar Cruz is allegedly also about to come out with evidence to prove that jueteng money was used by the administration to bribe election officials. In short, jueteng money was crucial in the last presidential elections.

The most controversial news is that former Isabela Governor Faustino Dy, Jr. is going to testify before the Senate panel as to what he actually witnessed in the alleged bribing of 23 Commission on Election officials at the residence of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the last elections. Both the administration and the opposition camps are saying that Dy would testify in their favor. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel has been quoted as saying that Dy would confirm the accusations made by Michaelangelo Zuce who claimed that 23 officials received envelopes containing P30,000. The Dy camp, however, maintains that Dy has not even received a summons to appear in the Senate.

The best thing we can do is just to wait and see what happens. The fact is that whistleblowers seem to be deciding the future of this country. What President Macapagal-Arroyo should do is just to continue her program for the nation. The opposition, on the other hand, should present their alternative program of government.